It’s sad, but most travelers have the wrong outlook on travel, which tends to make their experiences suffer. It seems to be a popular consensus nowadays, that travel is all about “how many countries and sites you can visit, as fast as you can.” This is not what travel is really about and traveling at lightning speed certainly doesn’t count towards having rich, memorable, life-altering experiences. I often talk about how true travel is a powerful, life-changing force and slow travel is the best way to experience it! It can be easy (especially for short-term travelers) to lose track of the reason for travel and to get caught up in a site-seeing frenzy.
Travel is most powerful when you open up every part of yourself, and accept whatever the hell the world decides to throw at you. This changing force is most powerful when you thrust yourself into situations that require you to endure life outside of your normal everyday box, where you must fight your judgements and grow to overcome your ego. One of the best ways is to submerge yourself into the culture of a place far away from your everyday norm. Part of opening yourself up to change is accepting the awkward and the uncomfortable and the scary, so you then are left with nothing else except yourself. Once you get to this raw state of being, your outlook is much more gentle and you’re much more vulnerable, taking in everything around you for what it really is (and not what you expect). With this vulnerability comes a childlike sense of wonder, curiosity and a need to meet and befriend people, and to grow into a fresh, wiser version of yourself.
While I believe slow travel is the best way to experience the world, it isn’t exactly for everyone. For example: if you’re only able to get away for a week every year, then you may want to plan your trip at faster pace, I suppose. But really, slow travel works for any type of traveler, whether you’re a digital nomad, a short or longterm traveler. Generally, people’s perception is that travel is super expensive, but that’s not the case. Slow travel is actually cheaper. For example: if you plan on traveling for three months continuously, then renting an apartment will tremendously cut down on your costs, as you won’t be moving from one place to another, accumulating all of those transportation costs, or staying in pricey hotels/hostels.
The next time you’re traveling, I hope you will remember to stop; literally stop, close your eyes, breathe deep and slowly open them again. Allow yourself to see the world in a whole new way. Take one slow step, after another. Travel at a slower pace, with a renewed being, relaxed and perceptive to the world. Allow yourself to become moldable, absorbing every detail, from the culture to the people. With slow travel, you will be able to create more meaningful memories, influence personal growth and see in new dimensions, as well as save yourself money.
(Photo by Trey Ratcliff)
While I believe slow travel is the best way to experience the world, it isn’t exactly for everyone. For example: if you’re only able to get away for a week every year, then you may want to plan your trip at faster pace, I suppose. But really, slow travel works for any type of traveler, whether you’re a digital nomad, a short or longterm traveler. Generally, people’s perception is that travel is super expensive, but that’s not the case. Slow travel is actually cheaper. For example: if you plan on traveling for three months continuously, then renting an apartment will tremendously cut down on your costs, as you won’t be moving from one place to another, accumulating all of those transportation costs, or staying in pricey hotels/hostels.
The next time you’re traveling, I hope you will remember to stop; literally stop, close your eyes, breathe deep and slowly open them again. Allow yourself to see the world in a whole new way. Take one slow step, after another. Travel at a slower pace, with a renewed being, relaxed and perceptive to the world. Allow yourself to become moldable, absorbing every detail, from the culture to the people. With slow travel, you will be able to create more meaningful memories, influence personal growth and see in new dimensions, as well as save yourself money.
(Photo by Trey Ratcliff)
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